Ricketts Leading Bulldogs To Historic Heights

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State softball head coach Samantha Ricketts has led the program to historic heights through five seasons at the helm in Starkville.

With her 158th win in the Maroon and White, Ricketts led the Bulldogs to a 2-1 series-clinching victory over No. 12 Georgia on Sunday to finish the regular season with a .500 winning percentage in SEC play for the first time since 2007.

"We really responded well to [Saturday], and they came out ready to play," Ricketts said about her squad's performance in the rubber match. "We wanted to be confident – leave it all out on the field – and I think that's exactly what this group did."

Ricketts has formed a staff filled with talented and dedicated coaches who are focused on taking the next step as a program and building a winning culture. The chemistry built between the coaches and players combined with their hours of hard work has allowed Rickets to spend more one-on-one time coaching the Bulldogs in her area of expertise at the plate.

MSU has slugged its way to 12 conference wins for the first time since 2012 and was among the top five teams in the conference in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in league play. That increased success has led to continuous improvement in State's confidence at the plate.

"We're still working back, but I thought our at-bats today were much better," Ricketts said after State's Game 3 victory over UGA. "I thought we were competitive. We were attacking pitches, making hard outs, and that's what you can ask for against a top team like that. The biggest thing is being confident in our ability and knowing that no matter what team or pitching staff we are going to face, that we have to go out there and be ourselves."

Since Ricketts arrived in 2015, State has broken the school record for home runs four times in nine full seasons. Each of the top five team totals have come under the watch of Ricketts, and this year she guided Madisyn Kennedy to a career-best 17 homers this year, including a school-record nine in SEC play. Kennedy has now etched her name into the program's all-time top five with 39 homers in her career so far, and Ricketts has coached three of the top four on that list.

The program's recent success is due in large part to a plethora of outstanding recruiting cycles under Ricketts. This year's freshman class was the third consecutive top-20 class with Ricketts at the helm, and the talented newcomers have wasted no time flashing their skills in the field and at the plate.

Ella Wesolowski, Salen Hawkins and Kylee Edwards all rank in the top five among SEC freshmen in the batting average category among those with at least 100 at-bats. Defensively, Edwards and Hawkins have recorded multiple electrifying web gems worthy of SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays.

Needless to say, Ricketts has established a successful inflow of talented recruits ready to display their talent for State. Those talented athletes backed up fifth-year Aspen Wesley in the circle who tied the school record with her ninth SEC win of the year.

"The defense behind [Wesley] was huge," Ricketts said on Sunday. "We made some really big plays, and we talk about it all the time, just not trying to give up extra opportunities so that you're not facing the heart of their order in the seventh inning. I thought we set ourselves up well with the way we played defense throughout the game."

Ricketts has established a culture of success for the program and has aided the program to record-setting heights. Putting that type of product on the field has attracted the Bulldog faithful to pack the park.

On its way to 33 wins so far this year, the most in the regular season under Ricketts, State also broke the single-season attendance record as 22,349 packed Nusz Park to support the program. That's not to mention the fact that State defeated ranked teams in 14 of those wins, which is already a single-season record.

As the Bulldogs venture into postseason play, State will be led by one of the most successful coaches in the program's history as Ricketts continues to build upon a foundation of exciting softball at MSU.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Ricketts Leading Bulldogs To Historic Heights

Players Mentioned

Kylee Edwards

Salen Hawkins

Madisyn Kennedy

Aspen Wesley

Ella Wesolowski

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